The Ives
by scoobygang-alumni
Summary: When the supernatural world becomes divided, a new coven of vampires enters the Cullen household for safety. Love triangles, bickering, newborns, sexual tension, blood, and a lot of angst ensue. Post-Eclipse, AU after that aka no BD .
1. Figures

1Disclaimer/Rating: I don't own any character/anything else from Stephenie Meyer; this includes the quote I used in the middle from _Eclipse_. Haven't decided if this will become an M, we'll see where it goes.

Author's note: So I wanted to write something after _Eclipse_ that made up for the _Breaking Dawn_ situation. If you liked it...sorry I didn't. This story will bring in a new family of vampires that will test Bella's relationship with Edward but also dig into immortality and its effects. This is a Bella/Edward story but it will also involve Jacob and how she deals with that. When I read _Breaking Dawn_, I had expected some more of that love triangle situation but...lack there of. Anyways, I want to pretend that at the end of _Eclipse_, they never discussed the marriage. Don't worry, they'll certainly discuss the sex element throughout this story but the marriage I'm not going to deal with at this point.

***

"So, why exactly are you in need of my help?" I asked, awkwardly shifting between Rosalie and Alice. Rosalie, encompassed in a navy trench coat, had a look of complete boredom on her face, spinning a lock of blonde hair around a manicured finger. Alice bounced slightly from one foot to the other, clutching my arm and searching the room determinedly.

She had dragged me to the Seattle Public Library because she had required assistance in "book finding or whatever". Exact words. Much to my wariness, Rosalie had been sitting in the front seat when I had hopped into Alice's car that morning. Rosalie's lovely face had shifted from brisk acknowledgment with an imperceptible nod and then intense indifference throughout the car ride. At least, she hadn't glared.

"It wasn't so much that I needed your help," Alice explained, fingers spread wide. "I just know you like libraries and I didn't think you needed to be sitting alone all day. I thought why not sacrifice some good shopping and do something Bella would want. I'm sure Rosalie could use some book references."

I outwardly cringed at the fact that Alice had even insinuated Rosalie would need my help. Rosalie threw Alice an irritated scowl.

" _I_ need the book references? Your idea of high literature is 'Cosmopolitan'."

Alice smiled coyly and twirled a finger around a smoky black lock of hair. "It's not like Jasper minds it. Good tips and all."

A sweep of heat flooded my face and I pretended to flip through one of the books on display. Alice and Jasper were hardly ever physical in my presence. It wasn't that I found it disgusting just surprising. They were all tender kisses, intimacy at its most personal level. They connoted a spiritual connection through their stares and conversations with the other.

Alice had never broached the subject of sex with me. Probably cause she didn't want me to share any inappropriate details concerning her own brother. It wasn't like those details held even a speck of lustful abandon, anyway. I could already imagine our conversation.

"Well he does this really, you know, hot thing with his mouth." I would say quietly, nervously picking at my sweater.

"Which is?" Alice would ask, smile wide and inviting. She would most likely enjoy the fact that innocent little Bella was actually exposing some intimate piece of herself.

"Well, I mean, he uses his mouth to kiss me and it's, you know, hot."

She had every inclination to know Alice would just stare at her blankly before patting her head with pity. One goal for the summer would have to be pushing Edward out of his safety net and making him understand that I wasn't such a fragile doll. It was already horribly backward that I was the only one begging for some sexual release with my own boyfriend.

"You know, Rose, I saw Emmet actually reading a 'Cosmopolitan' once and he looked incredibly curious." Alice teased, knocking me out of my own embarrassing reverie.

"Emmet and I do not need any tips concerning sex. Thanks." Rosalie hissed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Whatever you say."

"We don't. At all."

Alice giggled, tinkling bells rolling off her tongue. "Okay, okay...don't freak."

"I was not freaking."

Despite Rosalie's furious and frigid tone, there was a tinge of discomfort beneath her words. Whether she was slightly embarrassed to be discussing this topic in front of me or was actually reconsidering how good her sex life was, I wasn't sure. Then again, Rosalie embarrassed of anything? Especially, anything concerning me? Not likely.

"Since when were you interested in economics, Bella?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Alice had the ability of sneaking up on me during mid-thought.

"The book your reading." she pointed to the thick book I had picked up in my attempt at distracting myself from their sex conversation. I glanced down at its cover and read "The Wolf on Wall street".

"Oh no! It....um...just looked interesting. Vibrant cover art...very eye catching." I said quickly, putting the book back on its shelf. Rosalie glanced at me oddly.

"Oh," Alice laughed. "Well, I need some new reading material. I suppose you ask the front desk for that."

"I would think." Rosalie replied, a little sarcastically. Alice narrowed her eyes at her before skipping lightly over to the librarian's desk. The ancient woman at the desk looked incredibly bowled over at Alice's bright appearance. I glanced over at Rosalie and noticed how their skin glowed sugary white in the dim light of the room. The librarian's paper-thin hands typed slowly at the computer under Alice's patient stare. Her skin was delicate as crisp fly wings and her veins burned blue beneath her skin. I found it nauseating.

I walked over to one of the book shelves in order to get the woman's ash gray hair out of my head. Rosalie began scanning the covers in one of the display cases. Her blonde hair flickered like glossy daffodils beneath the amber glow of the library lamps. I felt my own breath catch at her immaculate complexion and was once more reminded of my grainy mortality. I looked at Alice, still leaning over the desk and speaking quietly to the librarian, her flawless white grin emanating charm. Both were guava pink lips and ochre eyes, living statues with arabesque throats and limbs. Figures taken out of Baroque paintings, shrines of beauty. These perfect faces were so ingrained in my brain that I was beginning to feel a withering indignation towards them. Even Emmett, all broad muscle and heavy appendages, had the gracefulness of a jungle cat. On top of all my gifted clumsiness, my grace could be paralleled to a one-legged, blind, sloth.

Every night, I told myself that the end was nigh. I knew it or believed it or prayed for it. I had to hang onto that one simple fact that _the end was nigh_. Because if I didn't, if the thought of me becoming a vampire shattered into nothing, I would lose everything. I loved Edward. It was static and clear as glass. It was my love for Edward that caused this, this absolute intense desire to die or, more romantically said, to be reborn as another creature altogether. I wanted to be with Edward forever. I knew this. That love had become a wholly entity that had consumed me to the point where normalcy had run its course. There would never be normal for me. There would never be children, picket fences, or bursting apple pies. All that had died when I had said goodbye to Jacob Black.

The thought of Jacob made me stagger against a book case and I prayed neither Rosalie or Alice had seen it. Barely a week ago, I had pushed him away or let him go. Maybe both. I thought of his face in my hands, square jaw and strong nose and soft, soft lips that were too full for such aquiline features. He had been too lovely, really. For how wild he was, for all that lively tenacity and fervor, Jacob Black was lovely. That shouldn't have fit with the whole package at all. It was like loving rippling vitality, his heart echoing the beating thrum of the earth. He shined in the sun, natural and subtle, like a fallen leaf resolutely drifting in the wind. I stopped myself because I wouldn't touch on Jacob Black at this moment. I couldn't face the idea of Jacob and certainly not with the rawness of hurting him still burning bright.

"Bella!"

My head shot up and met Rosalie's irritated stare, I guessed I was more lost in thought than I had imagined. I usually was more alert when Rosalie was hovering around.

"Jesus, I have been calling you for a good two minutes." She said harshly, her black rain boots squeaking slightly and I thought that only she would be able to wear rain boots with such elegance.

"Sorry, I got distracted by the books." I muttered, running a hand along the titles.

I supposed that me being distracted by novels was about as common as Emmet getting lost in a game of "Halo" and thus not to be questioned. Rosalie rolled her eyes and her turquoise earrings glittered against her white cheeks, aqua water and winter plumbs.

"Do you think this is good?" She lifted a fat novel up to my face as if asking me to inspect a bee sting or a paper cut.

"I Am Charlotte Simmons? Tom Wolfe?" I offered her a small smile, more flattered at her desire to know my opinion than in her new interest in reading.

"Yes. That would be the title," she said dryly.

"Yeah! Sorry, I mean I know Tom Wolfe is a fantastic writer. I bet you'd enjoy it." I grinned sheepishly and she looked at the cover once again as if searching for an answer in its bold type.

"Sure." she shrugged but her eyes were alight with some form of an acceptance. A very small acceptance, of course. But "small" meant absolute bounds with Rosalie. Despite our rather shaky relationship, she had been defrosting to some extent. I wondered if that had something to do with our one time heart-to-heart. Probably. She could also be plotting my demise and trying to keep me in a relative, safe state of mind. More probable.

Ever since she had told me her story, I felt both sympathy and a drumming anger in my system. Because as horrible and tragic as her story was, I still wanted to be her. I wanted what she possessed and hated her own sticky words concerning my fate.

_"You don't want to be rash about permanent things, Bella._"

I wasn't being rash. Vainglorious Rosalie. If she had fallen in love with a vampire, no doubt she would have forced him to turn her instantly on account of her own desperation for her eternal beauty. She meant well and I knew that. But, I could only look at her and curse her for her defined niche in the Cullen household. Her defined niche in _Edward's_ life.

It was difficult for me to even see her as she was anymore. Every time she passed my way I saw a flushed cheeked bride splattered in blood. She had gotten her revenge and now all remained was an obsolete emptiness leaving her aching and withered. I shivered and inspected her again from behind the book I had picked up. Blonde tendrils daintily skated across the white pages of her open book and her sooty lashes fluttered. She was reading, looking truly interested with her story. It gave her an endearing quality and she was almost touchable. Almost.

She looked back at me and her expression was strained, her eyes tightening at my nosiness. I saw a wedding gown like icing, dripping white crystalline, and her fingers locked in a man's open chest. Carmine stained her snowy arms. I shivered. Rosalie Hale was not someone to be put off as trivial or shallow, though Edward often brushed her off as such. I knew that she was beyond those things. I knew she was a labyrinth and I had every desire to not even breach it.

"What time are the boys coming home tomorrow?" I asked, hoping to make up for my obvious stare.

"Emmett said around five, but they usually get delayed." She answered, still reading.

"Delayed?"

"Well they sometimes get into these wrestling contests or just begin goofing off." She shrugged but a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Goofing off tends to mean pulling trees out of the ground and seeing how far they can hurl them."

I laughed despite myself, imagining Emmett pumping a fist in triumph as he made the longest throw. If Edward won anything, he smiled smugly, crossing his arms over his chest in pride. I had a feeling Jasper really did nothing except evoke a serene countenance. He only ever evoked a serene countenance.

I glanced at my cell phone, Edward had left a voice mail that morning and I had hoped he had sent another message. The reminders of him, his very voice whispering sweet, husky "I love you's", kept the visceral thoughts of Jacob and my aging face at bay. When Edward was away, I was more irrational than I usual.

Emmett, Jasper, and Edward had bounded off on a weekend long hunting trip. Apparently, an influx of mountain lions had made their way into the more northern parts of Washington. I smiled at the thought of his child like excitement at getting to track one down.

"You're leaving me!" I had gasped, hand falling across my chest in mock horror. He had actually looked concerned at my reaction.

"It's just for a few days, Bella." He had reasoned, wrapping an arm around my waist and nuzzling his face into my neck. He knew how to make me putty, malleable, easy.

"Jerk," I scoffed and he had laughed and laughed, messy hair falling into his eyes.

"My pretty Bella." He said softly, cupping my cheek and rubbing his thumb along my bottom lip.

He had kissed me harshly that night, fingers wrapping around my head and his beautiful face crashing against mine. I knew he was still anxious about the Jacob situation. I wondered if the hunting trip had been more of a breather from the chaos left over from my breakdown. After all, I _had_ completely broken into a thousand pieces in his arms over _another_ boy. I shrugged that thought off quickly. I had made it perfectly clear who it was I needed. Who it was I _wanted_.

"Rose. Bella."

Alice came rushing towards us, eyes shadowed and body rigid. A vision, most likely. I immediately felt a clawing bite in my stomach at the thought of Edward. Had there been some stray newborn vampires in the area? Even if Edward could handle himself, groups of newborns had to be dangerous. I imagined him attacked, fragments of porcelain spread out on the forest floor and visions of his lovely face in ribbons. I thought of how desolate Victoria's head had looked ripping off her body and how the fire had burned it all away. I felt an instinctual tug in my system and an intense desire to pull at my own hair.

"Is it Edward?" I croaked, already seeing my vision tunnel into white.

"No," Alice almost whispered. "Not that."

But, she did look frightened. Her fingers twitched and her eyes darted around the room quickly, anxiously, as if something was about to erupt from the middle of the floor.

"What is it?" Rosalie asked, eyebrows furrowed. She looked nervous, her mouth pursed at Alice's expression.

"We're going home," she responded bluntly, turning to the exit of the library with long strides that were almost alien compared to her usual prancing gait.

Rosalie and I gave each other confused looks and I felt a moment of shared companionship with her. When it came to bad situations, it was easy to acknowledge the fear of losing a loved one. Regardless of our differences, we had that much in common.

"Come on," She motioned and walked quickly after Alice, the book still locked in her arms. I was about to say something but thought better of it. I liked how even under the threat of danger, I could think only of inconsequential things. Maybe it was a coping method.

As I followed Rosalie, I thought of how ignorant I had been after Victoria had been killed and total catastrophe averted. I had wanted this to be my summer. A time that I could drift into seamless ease with Edward Cullen and forget all about flamed hair and shattering limbs.

Figures, I was wrong.

***

Final Note:

So...I'm aware lack of Edward and boring beginning. I mean it took place in a library...but I wanted to explore Bella's mind set at this point, etc. I promise more Edward (meaning more sexual angst), more vampires, more violence, and more epic matters.

Reviews totallllllyyy appreciated


	2. Bloated Oranges

-1Disclaimer/Rating: I own none of the characters ….they all belong to Stephenie Meyer, ect. No copyright infringement intended. This chapter features some cussing….and I think that's it.

Author Notes: Thank you for your reviews/alerts! They are so appreciated! I hope this chapter is a little more exciting!

***

The drive home was tension. Harsh, splitting tension that threatened to drown me. Rosalie had decided to take the wheel on account of Alice's condition. The moment they had reached her car, she had crumbled. Her eyes wide and dark and speaking volumes to both myself and Rose. She had softly moaned, a delicate sound that dripped from her mouth and then within seconds had risen to a howl. Her thin fingers had torn at her hair and her palms had slapped at her eyes. She had fallen against the side of the car and I had immediately lunged to help her. I had been stopped by a stone hand.

"Don't," Rosalie said lowly, her eyes on Alice's huddle form.

"I have to help her!" I practically wailed. I knew Jasper was usually the one who mediated the pain. With his absence, I had little idea of how to comfort her but knew something had to be done.

"She isn't herself….she isn't thinking clearly. If she were to accidentally hit you in this frenzy you'd probably die or get severe brain damage." She looked down at me, her expression torn between anxiousness and resolve. "Edward would kill me," she added. I guessed she didn't want to come off as being concerned for my safety.

"What do I do then?" I asked, beginning to notice the curious stares from onlookers. Rosalie seemed to, also. Alice was obliviously drawing designs with her finger in the wet asphalt. She actually was making indents as she carved feverishly.

"Get in the car and try and reach Edward."

She let go of my wrist and it ached from her fierce grip. Glaring defiantly at the different people who were beginning to hover around the car, she bent down and lifted Alice with a gentle ease that I had never seen her possess. Blond hair drifting around her face she angled Alice's arm around her shoulder and carefully placed her in the front seat. Absorbed with the scene, I watched her tuck a strand of hair behind Alice's ear and whisper something to her so soft that I couldn't make it out. Alice, still shaking with a rapid fervor, laid her head against the seat and closed her eyes, her lips parted and moving quickly.

"Get in the car, Bella!" Rosalie barked, though the musical lilt to her voice contradicted the commanding tone. I jumped at it, nonetheless.

We drove quickly, Rosalie nearly breaking the speedometer with her foot. I tried Edward numerous times and he wasn't picking up, something I found surprising and also horribly wrong. Edward didn't just ignore my calls. In fact, once I had accidentally called his number twice without knowing and he had raced to my house within seconds, demanding to know what danger I was in now.

Even Rosalie looked concerned when I said he wasn't answering. She pulled her own phone out and, with one hand on the wheel, started dialing. I could already tell this was a situation getting worse by the second and would most likely only elevate into total disaster by the end.

Alice's incoherent mumbling buzzed from the front seat. The fact that she had gone catatonic in mere seconds made me feel ill. She had been absolutely fine, completely aware as she told us that we had to return to the house. And now? Nothing. Her expression empty and weightless. We had seen her visions before and this wasn't something to be pushed aside. To be forgotten. I glanced at Rosalie who was practically hissing into the phone. Her eyes were riveted to Alice's form as she spoke, the road long forgotten. It was highly unsettling when she turned swift corners.

"I don't know what it is! She hasn't said much of anything." Her hair shook with every word and I opened my cell phone to dial Edward's number again. He didn't answer.

"She just said that we had to get back to the house"

"Yes"

"And then she lost it"

"Bella tried to reach Edward and he didn't answer"

"Alright"

"I'll call Emmett."

Rosalie's fingers were chalky white around the black steering wheel, bone hard knuckles wrapped so tightly I thought she would break it. I leaned forward and she looked at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Who was that?" I asked, words stuttering into each other already.

"Carlisle," she sighed. "He's going up to find the boys, in case ,we can't get hold of them."

"Oh…." I managed, feeling a slight panic at the fact that we _couldn't_ get hold of them _now_.

"Don't worry," she said, offering me something akin to a reassuring smile. "He said they're probably just mid-hunt. They can get caught up in the whole feeding process. I think its testosterone overload or something. Emmett tells me so, at least."

I appreciated her words, at her ability to make an effort to comfort me despite our less amicable relationship. I wondered if it was her own way of coping with her nervousness.

She was dialing her phone again and I pressed my head against the wet window of the car. I took in the dark, olive greens of the landscape. At the speed we were going, it blurred into a thick haze that comforted me. Silver streaks and liquid blending together into an amorphous space.

"Jesus! Why the hell have you guys not picked up your phones?" Rosalie screamed into her phone, her concern now switching to a black anger. I felt an instant rush of relief at the fact that she had made contact.

"Oh? Shit, really?"

"Get back to the house"

"Tell Jasper, he can't speak to Alice right now"

"Well, because Alice isn't speaking at the moment"

"Just go home"

"No, Emmett, I don't care about how big the bear was you killed"

"Not the right time"

"I know"

"I'm hanging up."

Rosalie was all calmness now, her fingers released their tense grip and she relaxed almost into her seat. I could see the corner of her mouth tug and she said very softly, "I love you, too."

The moment she hung up the phone, I was already bursting.

"Edward?" I coughed out.

"Fine. They all are. But, Edward I think got an inkling to whatever Alice had seen and kind of lost it a bit."

"Lost it a bit?" I asked, confusion blending into worry.

Alice's vision had to been incredibly strong in order for it to have gotten to Edward. Edward couldn't read minds long distance. The fact that it was only a _piece _of the vision that made Edward lose his control was something else altogether. This was really bad.

"Yes, Emmett said he's fine now, though. Edward already started dragging them back to the house. He must have gotten the vision while you were trying to call," she said. "He knows your safe but, I think Jasper is having a bit of a meltdown."

"I can imagine." I mumbled, feeling a little hypnotized at the low warble of the car's engine and the rain drop patterns on the windshield.

I could practically hear Jasper's threatening voice beneath Emmett's own through the phone. He sounded something beyond distressed. Animalistic. I felt a burgeoning selfishness when I realized I was a bit jealous of it. When I realized that Edward hadn't asked to hear my voice to know I was safe. He hadn't even called.

-:-

When we pulled up to the house, Jasper was already there. His face, usually blank as paper, was a hurricane of emotion. He yanked the car door open as it was still moving and picked Alice up. Before we could say anything, he was already rushing into the house, Alice's dark head curled into his chest.

Emmett and Edward held the door open for him, giving Alice twin looks of concern. Without thinking, I ran towards Edward. I needed something from him, some comfort in order to ease the idea that I felt separated from him in this situation. As I skated up the steps, miraculously not tripping, he met me halfway. Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me against him, pressing his face into my throat. I crushed myself against his torso, feeling the harsh line of muscle along his stomach and chest. With how hard I was holding him, it practically hurt. But I enveloped that pain, enveloped the quiet murmurs he was putting into my ear.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "It must have been frightening."

"Of course, I am! I was just worried about Alice." I pulled my head back and looked directly into his face. Something was off. His eyes were gold but something clung to the edges, a slippery venom of pain seeping into the whites. He was frowning. "I think I should be asking if _you_ are alright?"

He frowned ever more deeply, his full lips almost splitting into a grimace. "Rosalie told you?"

"Yes….and you didn't pick up your phone."

His arms tightened around my skin. He had slipped one arm under my shirt and was stroking my back lazily. I knew this. He was trying to distract me.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, gazing up at me from beneath sooty lashes. He was _so_ trying to distract me. "When I caught glimpses of Alice's vision, I fell. Broke my phone."

I nodded. "What did you see?"

"It's not really making sense right now. I mean I can't form these images into concrete forms." He said, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked over my shoulder, at something in the distance.

"You had to have seen something to have made you act that way though."

He was bugging me with the cryptic talk. He acted as if he was trying desperately to avoid a certain subject. The subject of danger, most likely. After all I had already been through with him, I felt a little annoyed at his inability to share these things with me. He still thought I could break so easily. I had before managed to self-destruct before. I'd admit that. But, I had grown up, become a little harder. I was perfectly capable of whatever he threw my way.

"It wasn't so much the images." He said tightly. "I _felt_ it."

"Oh." I breathed and I grasped his chin and tilted his face to mine. "Tell me."

"I felt…..just everything,…..implausible emotions coming from the people I loved. Fear, pain….. absolute anguish."

"How did you know they were from people you knew?" I asked, feeling his hand rubbing furiously at my back. Its stark cold burned.

"I just did," he said flatly.

His face was stone and its beauty seemed to harden with it. He looked dangerous. I smoothed the fallen hair out of his face in a consoling manner, hoping something would help distract him from his current state.

"I felt yours," he whispered quickly. I paused in my ministrations.

"I sensed something else, smelled something else in Alice's thoughts," he continued.

His words were flooding out, blending into a wet growl at the back of his throat. In flashes, Edward Cullen wasn't himself anymore. His angelic face, a Botticelli face, was mutating into something agonized, something irate. I saw his darkness, raw and exposed, in streaks. I saw what Edward could be and a part of me knew, if the future transgressed as it might, I would see it again.

"What was it?" I asked quietly, my body trembling slightly against his.

"I smelled blood. I saw it. Everywhere." Edward looked dazed, as if stolen by some wayward dream. I touched his arm and he slowly turned toward me, stared down at me. His grip was vice-like and bruising.

"I knew." His voice shook and he closed his eyes. "I knew it was yours."

-:-

When I walked into the bright lights of the Cullen's living room I guessed that I looked the very picture of distress. Most of them had given me double-takes. Carlisle, hands clenched in stress, threw Edward a questioning stare. Esme stood up before I quickly asked her to sit, offering her a small smile. Emmett, leaning against the wall, patted my shoulder affectionately and I was grateful for the warmth he meant in his cold touch.

After Edward's admission, which I had decidedly ignored, I had told him it would be best if we returned to Alice. He had remained silent, but had leaned down and kissed my throat. His lips had felt icy and wet and the soft suction sound it made caused me to jerk against him. He had led me quickly into the house afterward, seeming confused at his own actions.

The living room was awash with a pale gold glow, maple and velvet and ridiculously comforting. The splendid white and red couches were doughy and inviting and I pulled Edward toward one of them immediately, in order to hide my shaking fingers. I had no intention of thinking about what he said, of trying to analyze its meaning. Something bad was coming? And it had something to do with me? It must be Tuesday.

The thought of blood and Edward's absolute certainty that it was mine was a frightening thought. I shoved it to the back of my mind, knowing it would only make me vulnerable and on edge. I pushed it into the spot where I kept my thoughts of Jacob, a bubble that harbored everything that caused me to lose focus. I needed space so I could concentrate on my worry for Alice.

Esme was sitting across from us and, when I looked at her, she gave my blanched face a reassuring smile. Her hand rubbed incessantly at Alice's knee and she kept throwing Carlisle fretful glances. Jasper was swathed around Alice, his square jaw set and his blond hair like sand. I could see Alice's fingers were intertwined with his and her body was sagging against him. She looked a great deal better than she had in the car. Her tawny eyes were clearer and her expression had lost its emptiness. She still appeared gaunt and exhausted, but altogether more aware of where she was. I understood from the intensity of Jasper's expression that he had calmed something in her through his own powers. I could already feeling the tingling filter of peace drifting into my system.

I felt Edward's hand twitch against my waist and I leaned my head onto his shoulder, taking in his gentle scent of wood smoke and rain. He held me tighter and I could see the curve of his mouth, an apprehensive smile. The air was compressed between us and I knew, at some point, we were going to have a discussion involving whatever he had seen. I could already feel his desire to let it out, to release everything he was keeping inside like an exploding piece of fruit. A bloated blood orange. I would let him divest everything: the pulp, the seeds, the granules of the peel. And, hopefully, he would be the happier for it.

"I suppose we should start with you Edward." Carlisle said firmly. "I don't want to push Alice to say anything."

Edward face looked a little aghast for a moment and he glanced at Alice as if hoping she would interrupt. The rest of them just stared at Edward expectantly.

"I can't really form anything of what I saw…" he began, eyes boring holes into the floor. "I just got small feelings."

"Feelings? Like what?" Rosalie asked. Emmett hovered over her, a protective arm around her shoulders.

"I'm not really sure….there were so many." Edward mumbled, his voice now a little strained. I squeezed his leg.

"Well, why don't you make yourself sure. Give us something!" Rosalie practically yelled and Emmett patted her shoulder in restraint. Rosalie glared daggers at him. Edward stared at his hands for a few more seconds before continuing.

"It's muddled," he shrugged. "But, I get the feeling something big, something completely different is about to change us all."

"No shit! The new 'Grand Theft Auto' is being released this week." Emmett chuckled , eyes wide as dinner plates.

Rosalie smacked him hard across the back of the head and he gave her a wounded look. Emmett certainly knew how to lighten a mood, though a part of me believed that he was being completely serious.

"I meant an event that has to do with our kind is going to happen." Edward said, unfazed by Emmett's joke. "I don't know if it will be a war or fight or what. I just got these emotions…absolute waves of pain and hunger for violence."

"A war?" Esme asked, eyes frightened. "Like with Victoria?"

"No," Alice whispered "Bigger."

All eyes flew towards her, watching as her gaze stumbled between vision and reality. Her pupils had a milky sheen, a dark haze, and blue veins gleamed beneath watery skin.

"Awesome." Emmett breathed. Esme threw him a reproachful stare and he rubbed at his head, embarrassed.

"How big, Alice?" Carlisle asked, walking towards her. He bent beneath her and wrapped his fingers around her own hands, which were already locked with Jasper's. Jasper worriedly stared between the two.

"It won't just be vampires…..who are involved," she said slowly. "Other creatures, beings. I saw a break. Shifts of power and…bonds made."

"Shifts of power? The Volturi?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know. The power seemed great. Great enough to affect us all if it changes."

"It sounds like the Volturi." Jasper said, his brow scrunched in careful thought.

Carlisle stood up and he rubbed a snowy hand across his mouth. He looked, above all else, so tired. His eyes held the thick heaviness of sadness and his lovely face was grieved.

"Of course it's the Volturi," He said bluntly, bitterly.

I had never seen Carlisle truly angry. He was the leader and always had a mask of clear control upon his face. He was dependable for that and I knew that all the Cullens relied on him with everything they had.

"You would think that they would have just given up!" His voice vicious. "It's been more than two-thousand years and _now_ they want to change! Now, they want to tear the damn world apart because it just _suits_ them."

Carlisle paced quickly across the center of the room. Everyone else stared blankly at him. Esme stood up and reached for him but he shrugged her away. She didn't look hurt, just frightened.

"And these other creatures?" Edward asked, his voice intent and breaking the bloated silence of the room. "The ones who will help?"

"I really don't know. I get the feeling that they're powerful, ancient, and probably not many," Alice said. "They will do a lot of damage though."

I was very unsettled about her use of "will", as if her visions weren't subject to change. I suddenly felt as if this disaster was hurtling towards us, a nuclear bomb. It was inevitable. My head ached and I put my head into my hands, pushing into my temples as if to deflect the present onslaught of fear. Edward's fingers remained knotted to my side.

"They aren't vampires, though?" Rosalie prodded.

"No, they definitely aren't. In my vision, I could see a distinct line between us and these creatures. I knew they were different but also not human." Alice shrugged.

"We should tell the Quileutes about this." Edward said suddenly.

"No!" I cried and it sounded foreign in my own mouth.

They looked shaken at my outburst and Esme gave me a comforting stare.

"It would be a good idea, Bella." Carlisle said. "They deserve to know if anything is coming our way. It would most likely involve them. The Volturi are already aware they're here."

"But, it will be dangerous!"

I couldn't believe I was arguing with Carlisle. I knew that they should be told but I felt that this battle, whoever was a part of it, was for the Cullens. If the Quileutes knew, they would be adamant about fighting. They would want to, regardless of how bad it would be. This was different than the battle with Victoria and that had nearly claimed Jacob's life. Jacob. If I had to be honest, a huge piece of this refusal was because I didn't want Jacob trying to defend me again. I didn't want him endangering himself for my sake.

"They're tough, Bella. I mean, I hate to admit it, but they are." Emmett said, his hands open as if offering me a gift. "We'll need them in a fight."

Jasper nodded in agreement and Alice looked uncertain for a moment. She looked off into the corner of the room, her eyes distant and filling up with those gossamer veils once more. A timid smile fluttered across her lips and she pressed her palms together.

"We won't be alone in this. When the news breaks, friends will come here." Alice's voice was light as a bell, girlish and excited.

"Who?" Esme asked.

"Carlisle will know them….I'm not sure who they are…just….friends." She paused. "Vampires."

"When will they arrive?" Carlisle asked, obviously running names through his head on who these "vampires" could be.

"Oh!" Alice's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands with bubbly delight, a complete one-eighty degree turn from her previous state. Her gaze suspiciously drifted between us all before landing on me with a quiet intensity. Her expression was feverish and I wanted so very much to sleep and forget everything that had happened.

Alice put a finger to her lips and said, "Six days."

***

Notes: So I wasn't sure just how boring that would be. I know I'm being very secretive about what's going on but the Cullens also have very little idea. I don't know how well it all worked together but we shall see and I promise the new coven will be here shortly.

Reviews will bring the new coven here!


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